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12 Swimming Pool Maintenance Tips For New Pool Owners

In this blog post, I"ll be covering some Basic Swimming Pool Maintenance Tips EVERY New Pool Owner should be aware of!

There’s nothing like a refreshing dip in a swimming pool on a hot day!

When people get a new pool, they spend the initial days living out their fantasies of spending the weekends lounging in the water with an exotic cocktail in hand, hosting posh barbecue parties, doing water-yoga for stress relief and so on.

However, after the initial wave of excitement has ebbed a bit, new pool owners are confronted with an aspect of pool ownership that they had not given much though to before... pool maintenance.

A pool is comforting, inviting and invigorating only if it’s well looked after. Green or murky water is certainly not a way to impress your friends...

Check out these 12 easy and practical pool maintenance tips that you can try out immediately. They’ll ensure that your pool is always squeaky clean, with sparkling water.

12 ​Swimming Pool Maintenance Tips

1) ​Shower Before You Swim:

The idea is to take a quick 2-minute shower before entering the pool (Many communal pools have this policy). Just a ​quick body rinse can help to get rid of most of the dirt, mud, oils, skin lotions, sweat etc.

By preventing dirt and chemicals from entering the water, you can keep it cleaner for longer.

This is especially effective if you have kids around the house as they can make a pristine pool murky in just a couple hours of playtime.

2) ​Buy an Automatic Pool Cleaner:

As cheesy and "clickbaity" as it sounds, Just doing this ONE thing will reduce your pool maintenance worries by at least 50%.

As a swimming pool owner now for as long as I can remember, I can 100% testify to this fact!

There are various models in the market catering to various budgets, requirements and pool sizes. All manufacturers provide a warranty on their pool cleaners, making this a sensible investment.

Most automatic pool cleaners are usually easy to set up and once you put them into the water, they are more or less automatic (Unless you buy an awful model that keeps on getting stuck!)

You can sun bathe for a while as the pool cleaning bot scrubs and filters all the dirt and grime. Newbies usually have a hard time picking the right pool cleaning robot – there’s loads of features and a bunch of jargon to contend with.

Some pool cleaners can climb walls while others cant. If you get one that cannot climb walls, you’ll have to scrub them yourself. Some can do walls but struggle with stairs.

​BUT - If your pool tends to collect a lot of debris (leaves, ​bugs, etc) on top of the water, we'd suggest going with a pressure side cleaner such as the Polaris 360​.

​The Polaris ​360 not only cleans the bottom of your pool, but it uses your pools return water to create a suction vortex which essentially pulls junk from your swimming pool into the bag attached to the top of the device.

​Unlike many pressure side cleaners, ​a booster pump is NOT required to use it, as it uses your swimming pools circulation pump!

7) ‘Shock’ Once In A While To Kill Bacteria:

Shocking refers to radically changing the chemistry of a pool for a short time, in a bid to kill off excess bacteria. Conventionally, shocking means elevating chlorine levels to above normal but Chlorine-free pool shocking methods have also become available now.

Usually, water shocking treatment is used for public pools but it is also beneficial for private pools, especially after a pool party or a weekend of frolicking in the water.

Pool owners can ‘shock’ their pools using various proprietary solutions. These are inexpensive, effective and do not affect the pool liner as long as usage instructions are followed carefully. In some cases, shocking takes as little as 15 minutes and the pool is then ready to swim in.

Pool owners should consider shocking their pool a couple of times every season.

Pro tip: Shock pool at night as this leaves plenty of time for the water to return to the acceptable chemical concentration. Your pool may need to be shocked less often if using an ozone system.

8) Use an oil absorbing sponge:

Hair products, sun tan creams, skin lotions etc contain oils that float on top of the pool water and form a slick layer. (The body secretes its own oils too).

As gross as this may seem, it’s just the reality of ​swimming pools.

This problem has an easy fix though. Drop a couple of oil absorbing sponges into the water and boom, bang, bomb - your problem's solved!

They’re dirt cheap and available in various shapes such as turtles, stars etc.

If you don’t have a specialized sponge, throw a tennis ball or two into the pool. The fibers absorb oil and you can also play catch. (Although, you might not want to, as you now know what their true purpose is).

9) Prepare For Winter:

You can skip this step if you live in ​California, Texas or someplace else where the Sun shines all year round. However, it is important to cover the pool for winter and to drain all the pipes.

You might want to consult a professional on preparing the pool for winter, at least for the first time you do this.

(It is better to plan out all the details such as a pool cover before constructing the pool.)

10) Keep Pool Deck Clean:

People use the deck to get into the pool. So essentially, the pool water is only as clean as the deck. Keep deck sparkling clean by giving it a thorough wash every once in a while.

11) Keep water levels in check:

Ideally, the water level should be halfway up the skimmer. It may rise or fall rapidly at times, such as after a bout of rainfall. If the level is too high, you’ll have to drain or pump out some water.

Do remember to check and adjust the chemical levels as water level fluctuation affects their concentration.

12) Hire a pro once a year

Have a professional pool technician take a look at your pool at least once a year. Do this even if you feel that it’s not needed. Consulting a professional helps to fix and repair small issues before they balloon into serious (read: expensive or dangerous) problems.